Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Monday was a holiday in Texas. We were told it was a Columbus Day/Texas Fair Day/Teacher Workday. They say everything's bigger in Texas and apparently, we can't have just one reason for a day off of school, we need three.

I had a doctor's appointment (finally got out of the cast and boot and am able to walk on my own two -still slightly sore - legs). I also wanted to run by the library and Target. The girls LOVE going anywhere out of the house except school and to get flu shots, so they begged to come with me. I got such a kick out of watching them get ready to go and thought I'd share.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

I read blogs. I like blogs. I think the whole idea of blogging is amazing. That real people can write about their lives and talents and share them with the world. My favorite blogs are craft blogs. I enjoy a good tutorial. My problem with blogs, though, is that people share only what they want to share. The pictures are usually perfect and the writing is eloquent. I usually leave a blog with the impression that the blogger's life is more beautiful, more organized, and much more peaceful than mine.

So.....when Kyle asked/begged/pleaded for me to start a family blog, I resisted. I still resist a little. I don't feel like I have any gems of wisdom or super talents to share. I love to craft, but most of what I make is copied from someone else's blog. I do have a desire to share our "real" lives, but part of me resists putting it out there. I'm a little afraid of the judgmental eyes of others, but more than that, I'm not convinced people won't read the mundane aspects of our lives and simply say, "Who cares." In addition, when things aren't so great, who wants to read that?

I'm guessing the key is balance. In that spirit, I'm going to make a concerted effort to blog more and just let it all hang out. I don't want to swing too far in either direction of life's ups and downs, so I'll try to tell it like it is. We have moments that are like sweet, juicy oranges, and other sour lemon-y moments.

Here were last week's ups and downs (according to the kids):

EDEN:

Oranges - "Can't think of a favorite part. Well, okay, going to the mall with friends."

Lemons - "Everything else."

ABBY:

Oranges - "Nothing."

Lemons - "Everything."

KATIE:

Oranges - "On Monday, I really liked dance because we got to learn a dance and it was really fun because it was a lyrical. I really liked that. Tuesday just a good day, not the best, but it was okay. Wednesday not a good day because it was my dish day. No one likes that. And then Thursday, it was so much fun at dance because we had our banana split party. Our banana split party was that we had two months to stretch and do our splits. We had a sheet of paper like directions and it told us to warm up for five minutes, then do right, left, and middle. I passed because I got 0 inches (off the floor) on my right, 2.5 inches on my left, and 2 inches on my middle. Friday was awesome because that's the day we get to watch TV. Finally! And I had no homework, so that was good. Saturday I really was falling behind on my book report and so I spent some time reading. Today, which is Sunday, I'm really determined to get it done because it is DUE TOMORROW. My report is on the book called From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler."

Lemon - "I really, really did not like Tuesday. It was because we had so much catching up to do in school. I was falling behind and had to go to study hall. In fourth grade you don't get to go back out to recess when you're done. I had to sit there for 20 minutes even though I'd finished my work. Mrs. Giebel wouldn't even let us pick a book to read. AND - they got popsicles at recess. And I didn't. (Davis chimes in, "Oh, I got a popsicle.")

DAVIS:

Oranges - "renting Avengers and going to Mason's. And Mad Science. It's science and you learn about space. Mad Science allows me to talk and tell other people about the universe. They can get better at mad science. I mean the kids at my table. Now the Avengers. I like the Avengers because it has most of my favorite super heroes and I could really see the Marvel. My favorite character and super hero in it is Ironman. I really like when Loki steals the Cosmic Cube and gets the army to try to fight the Avengers. And he tries to get control of Tony Stark, but it doesn't work because of his Heartware.
Mason is my best friend. He is my best friend because . . . I don't know actually . . . oh, we bond. We have a really funny thing in our relationship. You see, when we first met, we were just three. We weren't interested in the same things because we were just three. Then when we got older, we started to like the same things and started to play and right now, we just have a good time. He does Marvel Ultimate Alliance which is a game I like very much and he has X Box. That's where I learned how to play X Box. With Marvel Ultimate Alliance you push A to punch, then you press B to do a super punch, you press X to open doors and you press Y to jump. And if you're a player that has the super power to fly, push Y a few times to fly."

Lemons - "I didn't like, you know, having to do a normal school day. It's really not good. It's boring. I didn't like having to wait for dad to come back from Katie's class to say goodbye on Donuts with Dad day. That's it. I have a lot of things I like this week.

I have friends who blog as a family journal. For Christmas, they print it in book form and have, on their shelf, a book for each year of their family's life. I would love that. Every Sunday, we watch a few old home movies of the kids when they were little. We let the kids either watch home movies or church movies. Home movies usually win out. It's interesting to see what we thought record-worthy with each video. Sometimes, we're on vacation, sometimes the kids are performing. But, our favorite segments are those with us just "being." Sitting in our house, running around the back yard, or making dinner. Those moments may not be as precious to anyone else, but it's those moments that remind us why we are important to each other.